Radio 2 In The Park 2026 Headlines Three-Day Festival at Stirling's City Park
Radio 2 in the park 2026 has been confirmed for City Park in Stirling, Scotland, running from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 August 2026. The choice of Stirling matters because the event will bring a major national festival to a city that organisers say will host tens of thousands of fans and draw millions of listeners through live broadcasts.
Radio 2 In The Park 2026 set for City Park, Stirling
The festival is scheduled over three days, from 7–9 August 2026, with performances planned across three stages in City Park. Scott Mills announced the location on his Radio 2 Breakfast Show; the programme itself attracts a weekly audience of 6. 5 million, while the station as a whole reaches about 12. 7 million listeners each week. All of the festival action will be broadcast on Radio 2 and streamed on Sounds and iPlayer, and many of the station's presenters will decamp to Stirling for the weekend.
A Friday-night DJ party will launch the weekend on 7 August, organisers say, leading into two full days of live sets. The announcement forecasts that "tens of thousands" of music fans are expected to attend in person, with millions more able to watch or listen through the station's platforms.
Scott Mills, Helen Thomas and the presenter line-up
Scott Mills described the move to Stirling as "an absolute treat, " saying he always receives a warm welcome in Scotland and that a Scottish crowd is the best crowd. Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said the presenter team is hugely excited to head to Stirling and that the station is busy building a live line-up for tens of thousands in the park and millions of listeners at home. The festival announcement makes clear that Radio 2’s presenters will play a visible role at the event, joining headline artists across the weekend.
The confirmation that radio 2 in the park 2026 will be staged in the city ties the station’s live programming directly to the on-site schedule, amplifying both the in-person audience and the station’s broadcast reach.
Stirling Council, landmarks and local events
Stirling Council Leader Cllr Susan McGill welcomed the event, saying the city will host a celebration of world-class live music set against the backdrop of Stirling Castle and that Radio 2 in the Park will be the biggest music event the city has staged. As part of the announcement, the National Wallace Monument and the Tolbooth live music venue in Stirling were illuminated in orange.
City Park previously served as the venue for Stirling Summer Sessions in 2024, underlining local experience of staging outdoor concerts. Council officials have framed the festival as a significant boost for the city and the surrounding region.
Festival history, past line-ups and broadcast context
Radio 2 in the Park is the station’s annual flagship live music event, created to bring major UK and international artists to cities that may not otherwise host such large-scale events. The festival follows last year’s staging in Chelmsford, the 2024 festival in Preston and the 2023 event in Leicester. The Chelmsford edition last year featured big-name acts including Bryan Adams, Def Leppard and Belinda Carlisle.
Organisers note that Radio 2 has a history of outside broadcasts and coverage in Scotland, including work around Celtic Connections and the Glasgow finale of Paddy McGuinness’ Children in Need Challenge in 2024. What makes this notable is that it will be the first major Radio 2 live music event staged in Scotland since Music’s Biggest Weekend at Scone Castle, Perth, in May 2018. For wider context, Radio 1’s Big Weekend took place in Camperdown Country Park in Dundee in 2023.
Further information on the full artist line-up and ticketing will be announced at a later date, with organisers stressing that more details will follow ahead of the August weekend.
